• Ryan Newman, driver of the
Penske Racing No. 12 Alltel
Dodge Charger, has one win,
two top-five and three
top-10 finishes in 13 NASCAR
Cup Series starts at Daytona
International Speedway.
• Newman’s best finish in
the July 400-mile Daytona
July race was an 11th-place
effort in 2006.
• Newman returns to Daytona
as the most recent winner at
the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
Newman won the 2008 Daytona
500 in dramatic fashion,
receiving what he called a
“push from heaven” from
teammate Kurt Busch on the
final lap to take the
checkered flag in first
place. It was the first
restrictor plate victory for
both Newman and Penske
Racing.
• Newman started seventh and
led eight laps en route to
his Daytona victory on Feb.
17th. Following the win,
Newman and the No. 12 Alltel
team’s winning car was
enshrined in the Daytona 500
Experience. Due to the
Daytona 500 win, the team
had to build a new car for
this weekend’s race. “The
big problem of winning the
Daytona 500 is they keep
your car after the race, so
we had to build a new car,”
crew chief Roy McCauley
said.
• Much was made of Newman’s
diet following his win in
the Daytona 500 in February.
Prior to the race, Newman
had only eaten three
homemade chocolate chip
cookies — made by his wife
Krissie in their motorhome –
and a banana. “Last year
when we were having some bad
luck, Krissie started making
the cookies and when she
would make them we would get
a top 10 or top five. She
made them in Daytona and we
won. After the race, the
guys told her she would have
to make them every week— but
she won’t do that because
she says that she is
watching my diet. But the
guys made her promise to
make them again this
weekend.”
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES ON:
WINNING THE DAYTONA 500:
“Winning the Daytona 500 was
a dream come true — not just
for me, but for everyone who
has helped me along the way.
My family. Penske Racing. It
was really just a special
moment for all of us. I
don’t think that I realized
the significance of winning
the 50th Running of the
Daytona 500 immediately, but
I knew that something
special had happened the
moment I crossed the finish
line. We had a brand new car
down there for that race,
and they took it away from
us and put it in the Daytona
500 Experience. The guys at
the shop went back to work
and built us another car,
and I don’t see any reason
we can’t go back to Daytona
this weekend and try to win
again. Our goal is to just
have a good weekend and make
up points.”
SURVIVING AT DAYTONA: “The
key to Daytona is just
staying out of trouble. You
want to have a fast car. You
want to be up front, because
hopefully that’s where the
wrecks won’t be. And you
have to have a little racing
luck on your side—just be in
the right place at the right
time. You have to have good
fundamentals, solid pit
stops and you have to keep
your fenders clean. You
don’t want to knock in what
is making you go fast.”
ROY MCCAULEY QUOTES ON:
RETURNING TO DAYTONA: “I
think we’re all looking
forward to going back to
Daytona. That was a great
moment for the No. 12 Alltel
team and the entire Penske
organization. While it will
be nice to be back there and
look back on that day, we
are focused on this
weekend’s race and having
another good run in the
Alltel Dodge at Daytona. It
will be different this
weekend because we’re under
the lights and they have
completely changed the tire.
So, we’ll just have to
adjust the grip accordingly.
The same issues will be
prevalent though. The car
will fight for overall grip
after about 10 laps, and the
summer heat will make the
track even slicker which
will make it harder to grip
the track. Our goal will be
to give Ryan as much grip as
possible to go wide open
around the race track.
Because at Daytona,
it’s the best handling car
that wins the race”
CHASSIS NOTES
PRS-524: Since Newman’s
Daytona 500 winning Dodge is
currently enshrined in the
Daytona 500 Experience
museum, Newman brings a
different car back to
Daytona. The No. 12 Alltel
Dodge that will serve as
team’s primary car is the
same car that he piloted at
Talladega in April. Newman
led five laps and finished
eighth in that race.
PRS-573: The backup No. 12
Alltel Dodge for this
weekend’s race is a brand
new Penske car.
UPCOMING EVENTS
7/1: Beginning today, fans
can place bids in the Alltel
Racing online charity
auction at
www.alltelracing.com.
Various autographed items
are up for bid. Net proceeds
will benefit the Ryan Newman
Foundation.
7/4: Newman will sign
autographs at the Alltel
souvenir trailer at Daytona
International Speedway at
12:30 p.m. EDT. Visit the
souvenir trailer for ticket
information.
7/4: As champion of the 50th
Running of the Daytona 500,
Newman will be inducted into
the Daytona 500 Experience
Walk of Fame at 1:30 p.m.
EDT. The ceremony will
include a Q&A with fans at
the Daytona 500 Experience
and the addition of Newman’s
hand and footprints into the
Walk of Fame.
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